Influence of titanium-substrate roughness on Ca–P–O thin films grown by atomic layer deposition
Abstract Amorphous Ca–P–O films were deposited on titanium substrates using atomic layer deposition, while maintaining a uniform Ca/P pulsing ratio of 6/1 with varying number of atomic layer deposition cycles starting from 10 up to 208. Prior to film deposition the titanium substrates were mechanically abraded using SiC abrasive paper of 600, 1200, 2000 grit size and polished with 3 μm diamond paste to obtain surface roughness R rms values of 0.31 μm, 0.26 μm, 0.16 μm, and 0.10 μm, respectively. The composition and film thickness of as-deposited amorphous films were studied using Time-Of-Flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis. The results showed that uniform films could be deposited on ro…
Ion-sputtering deposition of Ca–P–O films for microscopic imaging of osteoblast cells
Abstract An ion-beam sputtering technique was used to produce Ca–P–O films on borosilicate glass at room temperature from hydroxyapatite targets using nitrogen, argon and krypton beams at different acceleration voltages. The sputtering target was pressed from high purity hydroxyapatite powder or mixture of high purity hydroxyapatite powder and red phosphorus in order to optimise the film composition. The film composition, determined using time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (TOF–ERDA), was found to be strongly dependent on the ion energy used for deposition. By extra doping of the target with P the correct Ca/P atomic ratio in the deposited films was reached. The films deposite…
Wettability and compositional analysis of hydroxyapatite films modified by low and high energy ion irradiation
Abstract Hydroxyapatite-like thin films on silicon substrate were deposited using atomic layer deposition and were subjected to irradiation with Ar ions accelerated through 0.6–1.2 kV as well as 2 MeV 16 O + ions. After low energy Ar irradiation a significant reduction in contact angle was observed. However, the Ca/P atomic ratio remained unchanged. No reduction in contact angle was seen for high energy 16 O + irradiation. Atomic force microscopy showed the enhancement of floral-like pattern after low energy Ar bombardment while high energy oxygen irradiation lead to raised islands on as-deposited films.
Low-temperature molecular layer deposition using monifunctional aromatic precursors and ozone-based ring-opening reactions
Molecular layer deposition (MLD) is an increasingly used deposition technique for producing thin coatings consisting of purely organic or hybrid inorganic-organic materials. When organic materials are prepared, low deposition temperatures are often required to avoid decomposition, thus causing problems with low vapor pressure precursors. Monofunctional compounds have higher vapor pressures than traditional bi- or trifunctional MLD precursors, but do not offer the required functional groups for continuing the MLD growth in subsequent deposition cycles. In this study, we have used high vapor pressure monofunctional aromatic precursors in combination with ozone-triggered ring-opening reactions…
Cellulose-inorganic hybrids of strongly reduced thermal conductivity
Abstract The employment of atomic layer deposition and spin coating techniques for preparing inorganic-organic hybrid multilayer structures of alternating ZnO-CNC layers was explored in this study. Helium ion microscopy and X-ray reflectivity showed the superlattice formation for the nanolaminate structures and atomic force microscopy established the efficient control of the CNCs surface coverage on the Al-doped ΖnO by manipulating the concentration of the spin coating solution. Thickness characterization of the hybrid structures was performed via both ellipsometry and X-ray reflectivity and the thermal conductivity was examined by time domain thermoreflectance technique. It appears that ev…
Atomic layer deposition of polyimide thin films
The atomic layer deposition (ALD) of different polyimide thin films has been studied. We have demonstrated self-limiting ALD deposition of PMDA–DAH, PMDA–EDA, PMDA–ODA and PMDA–PDA thin films at 160 °C. The maximum deposition rate of 5.8 A cycle−1 was obtained for the PMDA–DAH process. Although the deposition rate was high at 160 °C, a sudden decrease was observed when the temperature was increased. Regardless of the process studied, no film growth was obtained at 200 °C or above. Deposited polyimide films were analysed by FTIR, AFM and TOF-ERDA. According to the FTIR measurements, imide bonds were formed already in as-deposited films indicating polyimide formation without any additional th…
Thermal and plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition of SiO2 using commercial silicon precursors
In this paper, we report ALD deposition of silicon dioxide using either thermal or plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD). Several aminosilanes with differing structures and reactivity were used as silicon precursors in R&D single wafer ALD tools. One of the precursors was also tested on pilot scale batch ALD using O3 as oxidant and with substrates measuring 150 × 400 mm. The SiO2 film deposition rate was greatly dependent on the precursors used, highest values being 1.5-2.0 Å/cycle at 30-200°C for one precursor with an O2 plasma. According to time-of-flight-elastic recoil detection analysis measurements carbon and nitrogen impurities were relatively low, but hydrogen content i…
Antibacterial and barrier properties of oriented polymer films with ZnO thin films applied with atomic layer deposition at low temperatures
Abstract Concerns on food safety, and need for high quality and extended shelf-life of packaged foods have promoted the development of antibacterial barrier packaging materials. Few articles have been available dealing with the barrier or antimicrobial properties of zinc oxide thin films deposited at low temperature with atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto commercial polymer films typically used for packaging purposes. The purpose of this paper was to study the properties of ZnO thin films compared to those of aluminum oxide. It was also possible to deposit ZnO thin films onto oriented polylactic acid and polypropylene films at relatively low temperatures using ozone instead of water as an o…
Effect of ozone concentration on silicon surface passivation by atomic layer deposited Al2O3
Abstract We study the impact of ozone-based Al2O3 Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) on the surface passivation quality of crystalline silicon. We show that the passivation quality strongly depends on the ozone concentration: the higher ozone concentration results in lower interface defect density and thereby improved passivation. In contrast to previous studies, our results reveal that too high interface hydrogen content can be detrimental to the passivation. The interface hydrogen concentration can be optimized by the ozone-based process; however, the use of pure ozone increases the harmful carbon concentration in the film. Here we demonstrate that low carbon and optimal hydrogen concentration…
Atomic layer deposition of Ti-Nb-O thin films onto electrospun fibers for fibrous and tubular catalyst support structures
Here, the authors report on the preparation of core-shell carbon-ceramic fibrous as well as ceramic tubular catalyst supports utilizing electrospinning and atomic layer deposition (ALD). In this paper, ALD of Ti-Nb-O thin films using TiCl4, Nb(OEt)5, and H2O as precursors is demonstrated. According to the time-of-flight-elastic recoil detection analysis and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, carbon and hydrogen impurities were relatively low, but depend on the pulsing ratio of the precursors. Optimized ALD process was used for coating of sacrificial electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) template fibers to yield tubular Ti-Nb-O structures after thermal or solution based PVA removal. Anoth…
Structural and optical characterization of ZnS ultrathin films prepared by low-temperature ALD from diethylzinc and 1.5-pentanedithiol after various annealing treatments
The structural and optical evolution of the ZnS thin films prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) from the diethylzinc (DEZ) and 1,5-pentanedithiol (PDT) as zinc and sulfur precursors was studied. A deposited ZnS layer (of about 60 nm) is amorphous, with a significant S excess. After annealing, the stoichiometry improved for annealing temperatures &ge
Atomic layer deposition and characterization of biocompatible hydroxyapatite thin films
Abstract Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to produce hydroxyapatite from Ca(thd) 2 (thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato) and (CH 3 O) 3 PO onto Si(100) and Corning (0211). Film crystallinity, stoichiometry, possible impurities and surface morphology were determined. The as-deposited films contained significant amounts of carbonate impurities however, annealing at moist N 2 flow reduced the carbonate content even at 400 °C. The as-deposited Ca–P–O films were amorphous but rapid thermal annealing promoted the formation of the hydroxyapatite phase. Mouse MC 3T3-E1 cells were used for the cell culture experiments. According to the bioactivity studies cell proliferation was enhanc…
Atomic layer deposition of lithium containing thin films
Five different lithium containing compounds, all representing different chemical systems, were studied in order to deposit lithium containing films by atomic layer deposition ALD. The studied compounds were a lithium β-diketonate Li(thd) (thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate), a lithium alkoxide LiOtBu (OtBu = tert-butoxide), a lithium cyclopentadienyl LiCp (Cp = cyclopentadienyl), a lithium alkyl n-butyllithium, and a lithium amide lithium dicyclohexylamide. Films containing lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) were obtained from alternate pulsing of Li(thd) and ozone in a temperature range of 185–300 °C. The film composition was analyzed by time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (…
Properties of AlN grown by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition
Abstract The influence of growth parameters on the properties of AlN films fabricated by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition using trimethylaluminum and ammonia precursors was investigated. The atomic concentrations, refractive index, mass density, crystallinity and surface roughness were studied from the films grown in the temperature range of 100–300 °C with plasma discharge times between 2.5 and 30 s. The AlN films were shown to be hydrogen rich having H concentrations in the range of 13–27 at.% with inverse dependence on the growth temperature. The carbon and oxygen concentrations in the films were less than 2.6% and 0.2%, respectively. The refractive index and mass density of the f…
Low-temperature Molecular Layer Deposition Using Monofunctional Aromatic Precursors and Ozone-based Ring Opening Reactions
Molecular layer deposition (MLD) is an increasingly used deposition technique for producing thin coatings consisting of purely organic or hybrid inorganic–organic materials. When organic materials are prepared, low deposition temperatures are often required to avoid decomposition, thus causing problems with low vapor pressure precursors. Monofunctional compounds have higher vapor pressures than traditional bi- or trifunctional MLD precursors, but do not offer the required functional groups for continuing the MLD growth in subsequent deposition cycles. In this study, we have used high vapor pressure monofunctional aromatic precursors in combination with ozone-triggered ring-opening reactions…
Low-temperature atomic layer deposition of SiO2/Al2O3 multilayer structures constructed on self-standing films of cellulose nanofibrils
In this paper, we have optimized a low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) of SiO 2 using AP-LTO® 330 and ozone (O 3 ) as precursors, and demonstrated its suitability to surface-modify temperature-sensitive bio-based films of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). The lowest temperature for the thermal ALD process was 80°C when the silicon precursor residence time was increased by the stop-flow mode. The SiO 2 film deposition rate was dependent on the temperature varying within 1.5–2.2 Å cycle −1 in the temperature range of 80–350°C, respectively. The low-temperature SiO 2 process that resulted was combined with the conventional trimethyl aluminium + H 2 O process in order to prepare thin mul…